


Catgirls are nocturnal

by wingedcatgirl



Series: the loose collection of fanfic i've written about my own WoL [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: #FFXIVWrite, #FFXIVWrite2020, 'emotional conversation in the pendants' is its own entire genre tyvm, 24-hour challenge, F/F, Gen, Third-Person Perspective, ffxiv 5.0 spoilers, i do NOT remember what order canon took place in do NOT @ me, self-insert-ish character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:20:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26247070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wingedcatgirl/pseuds/wingedcatgirl
Summary: #FFXIVWrite2020 Day 1: Crux. Sylvi can't sleep. Y'shtola wants to know why. This turns out not to be a simple question.
Relationships: Y'shtola Rhul/Warrior of Light
Series: the loose collection of fanfic i've written about my own WoL [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1906687
Comments: 4
Kudos: 21
Collections: #FFxivWrite2020 Final Fantasy 30 Day Writing Challenge





	Catgirls are nocturnal

**Author's Note:**

> ATUHOR'S NOSE: i'm no good at titles, don't @ me about that either. in fact never @ me for any reason. how are even you doing that on this webbed site where that's not a feature that actually exists.
> 
> i do kinda wish, back when i initially joined xiv, that i had made my WoL her own character instead of "Eorzea me". but i did not do that so here we are today

There aren't many people who would notice a Miqo'te walking around at night, if she doesn't want to be noticed. 

One of the classical exceptions, is, of course, another Miqo'te. 

"Up already, Sylvi?" 

Particularly if that other Miqo'te already has a good few years' practice relying on her hearing alone. 

_Busted..._ "Oh, hey there, Shtola," the Warrior of Light and/or Darkness said with feigned levity. "Didn't... expect to see you out this late." 

"I could say the same of you. Aren't you meant to be having a well-deserved rest right now?" 

"... Aren't _you_?" Sylvi responded with a tone somewhere between playful and nervous. 

"That's as may be, but only one of us was _ordered_ to rest." Y'shtola said, walking right up and standing nearly nose-to-nose with Sylvi. "Will I need to put you to bed myself?" 

Sylvi flushed. "... Maybe next time. I really _was_ trying to sleep, though. I just... couldn't." 

Y'shtola kept staring for a few more moments. "Is that so?" 

"Yeah, I swear!" she said, laughing nervously. "I was just gonna... get some fresh air, maybe make some hot cocoa or something, and try to get back to sleep afterward. That's all." 

Y'shtola's ears perked up. "Hot cocoa, you say?" 

"Mm-hmm! Wanna join me? Make sure I get back to bed on time?" Sylvi said, grinning slightly. 

"I suppose I must," Y'shtola said, smirking. "Knowing you, if I leave you to your devices you'll find a good book and not get back to sleep until sunrise." 

"That only happened once..." 

* * *

Shortly thereafter, the two of them sat down in Sylvi's inn room, mugs of hot chocolate in hand. 

"Your cocoa is divine, as always," Y'shtola said. "Now tell me, why were you truly awake?" 

"Eh?" Sylvi seemed to be completely baffled by this question. 

"Your voice has been far too weary for someone who 'just couldn't sleep'." 

"W- well, I _couldn't_ sleep," she protested. 

"Oh, I don't dispute _that_ ," Y'shtola said. "Only that you _just_ couldn't sleep." 

Sylvi looked down at her cocoa guiltily. 

"It's the light," Y'shtola said. "Isn't it? ... Every time you've kept your woes quiet in the past you've regretted it, what makes you think this time is any different?" 

"... did you know, after Philia went down without a hitch, I kinda felt invincible?" Sylvi said. "I absorbed that much light with seemingly no effect, so I thought that meant I could..." She frowned suddenly, looking distracted. "Emet-Selch thought so too, actually. Seems to think it'd prove... something good for him..." 

"When the Flood of Light was the crux of his plan?" Y'shtola responded, sounding skeptical. 

"He _is_ unfathomably ancient," Sylvi pointed out. "I'm sure he has plans within plans. Perhaps the true crux of his plan was... whatever this is about." 

"Quite... In any case, you were going somewhere with this?" 

"Mm." Sylvi took another sip from her cocoa. "Ever since this last Lightwarden, I've been having these occasional bouts of... wrenching agony in my entire body. They didn't last long at first, but when I tried to sleep..." She shook her head. "I couldn't do it." 

"Ah. That is problematic indeed..." 

"I've been thinking about the void, actually," Sylvi said. "Pretty sure aether doesn't actually work this way, but I keep thinking about dumping this light aether off there and bringing a load of dark aether back here... too bad I don't have any idea how the Exarch brought us here." 

Y'shtola chuckled. "I can't say it's a _bad_ idea. But even the massive amount of light aether you're carrying within you now is but a drop in the bucket next to the Flood itself — and presumably the Flood of Darkness is just as vast. One imagines something more like... opening a persistent gateway between the two." 

Sylvi smiled weakly. "Yeah, that would work a lot better... Speaking of better, I don't seem to feel like my very soul is aflame anymore, so... I suppose I should try getting back to sleep." 

"Indeed you should," Y'shtola said, standing up. She paused briefly. "And yet you're not doing so?" 

"Er..." 

"If you're trying to invite me to stay the night, you can simply say so." 

The noise that came out of Sylvi's mouth somehow perfectly approximated a keysmash. "Well — yes, that exactly — but you're not concerned about possibly having to explain it to the others?" 

"Sylvi, I've been here three years," Y'shtola said. "The subject of our relationship has come up a few times already." 

"Shtola! You could've mentioned that when I got here!" 

**Author's Note:**

> my brain apparently defines "final fantasy xiv fanfic" as "emotional scene in the pendants", so you'll probably be seeing 29 more of these. please look forward to it


End file.
